A preview of the final (pre-release) build of Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7 has been released by Microsoft, bringing “30 per cent more speed” than any of its rival browsers when run on the OS, according to Redmond.

It also supports multi-touch, and although there aren’t very many Windows 7 touch PCs out there, this might be useful for businesses using Windows 8 PCs running the Win7 OS because of business-critical apps.

Microsoft said the new release of IE11 contains re-designed developer tools. IE11’s JavaScript engine, Chakra, is “nine per cent faster” than IE 10 and 30 per cent faster than “the nearest competition” – Chrome version 29 – on WebKit SunSpider benchmarks, it said.

The biggest change, though, is for the developers, who gain a redesigned and enhanced suite of in-browser F12 tools.

Dubbed “Firefox Metro,” work has already begun on it and Firefox 26 for Windows, which it will be packaged alongside of. The touch-optimized browser is scheduled to reach Mozilla’s Aurora channel on September 16 and Beta channel on October 28, which means users will have a first real glimpse of the updated build as early as next month.

If PC sales were generally bad in the second quarter (and they were), then Europe was the epicenter from which the damage spread. Worldwide, sales were down 10.9% from 2012, but European sales fell almost twice as much at 19.8%. Acer and Asus took the heaviest hammering; Acer’s sales were down 44.7% while Asus sales fell 41.7%. Both the desktop and PC markets sank, with sales declining by 23% and 12% respectively.

The cause?

Netbooks have largely been replaced by tablets, vendors were focused on clearing inventory in preparation for Haswell and Windows 8.1, and the ongoing economic downturn in Europe have depressed demand. Gartner offers some faint hope that Windows 8.1 and Haswell might turn the slide around, but notes that this will not stem falling sales. According to Meike Escherich, the chief benefit of Haswell, Bay Trail, and Windows 8.1 is that “it does create an opportunity for profit in the mid-range and more high-end PC segments.”

It’s what people want. Me I find laptops not that useful, they are generally too bi g and clumsy to carry around and then when you get to where you want to work, they are just too limited for what you want to do. For real work, give me a big honking desktop … I want to run my TV with my laptop, I need a whole bunch of money motion to set it up.

As as most designers are finding Linux is great of handheld devices from phones to tablets, and doubles as desktop and server O/S due to it’s modular expandable design. What do you think Android is ???

Is ‘Windows’ Microsoft’s biggest problem when it comes to being relevant in a world of computing that’s mobile, fun, social and always-on. The laptop, for example, is still viewed by most people as a place where you work. No social, no gaming and a 5-minute wait until the laptop finishes updating and then tells you that you really should go and find the power adaptor. Heavy, noisy, hot, boring, boring, BORING. ‘Windows’ is largely responsible for this having focused on ‘work’ for much of its lifetime. Adding a new touch layer to ‘Windows’ doesn’t instantly make Windows an exciting operating system, despite the work that Microsoft has put into every layer of that ecosystem. By designing tablets that turn into laptops, however, there’s a better opportunity. Roll with the punch, Microsoft.

As pricing outstrips buyers willingness to pay. Who needs new when you can always use old XP … Win XP alive and kicking despite 2014 kill switch (Don’t ask about Win 8) XP On track to be world’s second most used desktop OS when security patches cease.

That’s a fine fix we find ourselves in, who needs new, when old works just fine. And there is always free as the MS tax falls by the wayside. There is always Linux. Most smartphones now run versions of Linux. What did you think Android is? And Apple’s IOS. Smartphones now are the choice to replace desktops for general web usage.

Now good enough, is good enough, for most users, who needs a desktop? Chip technology is now good enough. Do you hear any of your friends clamoring for a new Intel Haswell computer? Do they even know what that is, or care?